Lust for Youth is the solo vehicle of Swedish electronic musician Hannes No… Read Full Bio ↴Lust for Youth is the solo vehicle of Swedish electronic musician Hannes Norrvide. The project began in 2009 in Gothenburg , Sweden at a collective venue/practice space when Norrvide's friends were starting up a punk band. He was inspired to join in, but he only had access to a somewhat useless toy keyboard, so due to the limitations of his instrument, he opted instead to make music alone. The early experiments of Lust for Youth were raw, primitive, and drony. Norrvide worked on the project tirelessly, releasing several cassette albums and miscellaneous 7" singles before the release of 2011's proper full-length, Solar Flare, on the Italian label Avant! Records. At this point Lust for Youth had grown from its hazy beginnings into a tormented darkwave sound, minimal electronics, and gothic beats that bordered on harsh noise. Loke Rahbek of Sexdrome joined Hannes in collaboration following the release of the record, and the duo played shows throughout Europe. In 2012 the harsh and dissonant Growing Seeds album materialized, released again on Avant! in Europe and on Sacred Bones in the United States. Around that time the band relocated from Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark. They followed in 2013 with third album Perfect View, again released on Sacred Bones. For the following year's International, Norrvide continued the dark synth pop direction of Perfect View, polishing and streamlining it with the help of producer Malthe Fisher and collaborator Rahbek.

Armida
Lust for Youth Lyrics

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Turned them stale of joy

And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control
Control was out of your reach now
I bet you let it go
And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control

And you turned mad on sight I saw
Almost naked from what I stole
Nothing left to show
Deprived of all but your glow
Oh, nothing left to show
Deprived of all but your glow

And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control
Control was out of your reach now
I bet you let it go
And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control
Control was out of your reach now
I bet you let it go

And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control
Control was out of your reach now
I bet you let it go
I bet you let it go
I bet you let it go

And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control
Control was out of your reach now
I bet you let it go
And the waves would shake your feet
And I saw you lose control

Control was out of your reach now
I bet you let it go

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "Armida" by Lust for Youth speak to a sense of betrayal and loss of control. The singer acknowledges that they have taken advantage of another person, "robbed them of their will" and "baited their hope." The imagery suggests a kind of vampiric draining of energy and joy, with the subject's eyes being "turned stale of joy."

However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that the singer may have underestimated the effects of their actions. The repeated refrain of "the waves would shake your feet / and I saw you lose control" implies that some greater force or emotion has overtaken the subject, perhaps in response to the betrayals described earlier. The implication is that the victim has become more powerful than the singer ever intended, and that they have lost control of the situation entirely.

The chorus repeats, "Control was out of your reach now / I bet you let it go," suggesting that the subject has intentionally surrendered their sense of control. The final lines of the song repeat this idea, emphasizing that there is "nothing left to show / deprived of all but your glow." The subject's power, ultimately, seems to come from within themselves rather than from the singer's actions.

Line by Line Meaning

Yesterday would have been too soon
I held back from expressing my admiration for you earlier than today

For the praises I held
I had withheld expressing my admiration for you before now

I did rob you of your will
I deprived you of your free will and manipulated you

I did bait your hope of your pupils that spread
I tempted you with the idea of a bright future to deceive you

Like seeds in soil
Just as seeds are planted in the ground

I did drain your eyes
I exhausted your emotions and made you feel empty

Turned them stale of joy
I made you feel that happiness was no longer possible

And the waves would shake your feet
The turbulence of our relationship would cause you to lose your balance

And I saw you lose control
I observed you succumbing to my influence and sinking into chaos

Control was out of your reach now
You could no longer resist my manipulations

I bet you let it go
I assume that you acquiesced to my manipulations

Almost naked from what I stole
You were left feeling exposed after I took something important from you

Nothing left to show
You had nothing else to offer after I had taken everything from you

Deprived of all but your glow
All that remained was your inner light, which I could not extinguish